Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has set the price she must pay for backing off her threat to call a vote on President Mike Johnson’s impeachment.
In a nearly two-hour meeting requested by Greene yesterday to explore possible paths out, the MAGA firebrand and his ally, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), outlined several policy demands they are pursuing before canceling their plans.
They include, according to people familiar with the conversations:
- There will be no more aid for Ukraine;
- A return to the “Hastert Rule,” meaning that no legislation is put to a vote without the support of the House majority;
- Defund Special Counsel Investigations on former President Donald Trump in upcoming assignments; and
- Application of the “Massie Rule” whereby government funding is automatically cut across the board if a replacement agreement is not reached by a certain deadline.
They will meet again today at 12:30 p.m. in the hope of achieving a detente. Spokespeople for Greene and Johnson declined to comment on their discussions, but the speaker struck a conciliatory note after yesterday’s meeting, sympathizing with Greene and promising to “keep this team together.”
Make no mistake, though: The pressure for GOP unity in an election year is weighing on Greene, who is battling exasperated Republican colleagues and skepticism from the party’s undisputed leader, Trump.
Johnson might be in a position to grant at least some of Greene’s requests. Since this Congress has effectively finished passing controversial and must-have issues, such as funding the government, raising the debt ceiling, and expanding surveillance authorities, Johnson can probably stick to the Hastert Rule (named after former President Dennis Hastert , now disgraced).
Democrats agreed to a version of the Massie Rule during last year’s spending talks with then-President Kevin McCarthy, so Johnson could probably accept that version as well.
As for Ukraine, Congress just sent Kiev $60 billion in aid, enough to last the entire year by most estimates, though Greene might also want to push for a nine-figure aid authorization in the bill. annual Pentagon policy bill that is expected to be passed later this year.
But defunding special counsel Jack Smith’s Trump investigations could be much more complicated. In the past, frontline Republicans have opposed such demands, not to mention Democrats. If Greene expects Johnson to oppose a long-awaited September continuity resolution, that would be a recipe for a federal shutdown just weeks before the election.
The two sides have not yet reached an agreement (and may never reach one), but it is clear that temperatures are dropping. After all, a handshake solution is in the interests of both parties: It would spare Johnson a risky vote in which he would have to rely on the largesse of Democrats to save his deck.
And for Greene, we’re told her relationship with Trump and his inner circle is at stake. The former president “could not have been clearer,” a person close to him said last night, noting that he is not interested in more intraparty drama this election season.
Do you like this content? Sign up for POLITICO’s Playbook newsletter.